Awards Ceremony Honours Young Talent and Filmmakers!

The Coca-Cola Cinemagic Film and Television Festival for Young People welcomed host of film industry professionals and special guests to the annual Awards Ceremony, in Belfast City Hall, last night. Young people were treated to a celebratory event, hosted by Marc Mallet, where the winning films of the festival were announced, young talent from masterclasses awarded and the achievement of young filmmakers were applauded!

500 invited guests, including The Lord Mayor of Belfast Máirtín Ó Muilleoir, along with BAFTA Award-winning film producer, Iain Smith OBE, (Children of Men, The A Team, Cold Mountain and the upcoming Mad Max movie Fury Road), who received a lifetime achievement award from Cinemagic, enjoyed a look back at the year’s film projects and the October and November festival programmes which were action packed with the very best films from around the world, educational workshops, masterclasses and industry discussions.

Emerald Reel Award for Best Feature Film for a Teenage Audience 12+
Mike Says Goodbye. Dir: Maria Peters (The Netherlands)

Golden Reel Award for Best Feature Film for a Young Adult audience 15+
Touch of the Light. Dir: Rong-ji Chang (Taiwan)
5 young filmmakers were announced as the winners in the annual Cinemagic Young Filmmaker Competition.

Young Filmmaker of the Year:

(Under 15) Wales High School, Sheffield, The Test

(15-17) Tallaght Young Filmmakers, The Late Doctor’s Daughter

(18-25) Ellan Rankin, Tree of Life

Best Script or Story:
Eileen Tracey, The Secret Life of Marionettes

Best Community Film or Group Project
Beacon Hill Arts, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Justin and the Priceless Vase

13 young people, were recognised for their achievements in the ‘Talent Lab’ masterclasses.
The Talent Lab winners were:

Most Promising Director in the Tony Mitchell masterclass: Grzegorz Adamek from Belfast.

Most Promising Film Producer in the Gareth Ellis-Unwin and Jessica Malik masterclass: Sophie Murphy from Dublin.

Most Promising Screenwriter in the Ryan Rowe masterclass: Helen Rollins from Crawfordsburn.

Most Promising Music Composer in the Mark Gordon masterclass: Isaac Gibson from Hillsborough.

Most Promising Actor in the Bronagh Waugh masterclass: Ellen Patterson from Dublin.

Most Promising Sports Presenters in the Denise Watson masterclass: Zak Campbell and Gearoid Rice from Lisburn.

Most Promising Actor in the John Bell masterclass: Ambre Reilly from Bangor.

Most Promising Actor in the Hubbard Casting masterclass: James Stockdale and Eve Callahan from Letterkenny.

Most Promising Filmmaker in the Michael Lennox Masterclass: Ollie Cook from Greenisland.

Primary Schools across Northern Ireland took part in a short film jury competition and chose Macropolis, directed by Joel Simon, as their winning short film. Cavehill Primary School, Belfast and Ballycastle Primary School, Ballycastle were announced as the Northern Ireland FILMCLUB schools of the year. Operating throughout the province, FILMCLUB is one of Northern Ireland’s most popular after schools activities for students aged 4-18 years old.

Joan Burney Keatings, Cinemagic Chief Executive said “Cinemagic’s 2013 activity has been a huge success. Thank you to everyone who has supported us and thanks to those who have given their time to share their skills with young people. We are delighted to have engaged with thousands of young people this year, inspiring and motivating them through the medium of film and television".

Richard Williams, CEO, Northern Ireland Screen said: “Northern Ireland Screen is delighted to see the eclectic programme of screenings and educational events at the Cinemagic Film Festival in Belfast this year for the young people of Northern Ireland. Through our continued core funding, supported by DCAL, Northern Ireland Screen acknowledges the Cinemagic Film Festival in Belfast as a key component in our efforts to achieve our goal of making a significant contribution to film culture, education and training.”

Gillian Shields, PR Executive, Coca-Cola HBC Northern Ireland Ltd, said “Coca-Cola is proud to sponsor the 12-25 year olds Cinemagic Festival Programme and to support the valuable work it does. This year’s festival has provided participants with the opportunity to gain exciting and practical experience in many arts based disciplines, giving a unique insight into the world of film and television and showcasing the many and varied talents in Northern Ireland”
Cinemagic International Film and Television Festival for Young People is funded by Northern Ireland Screen supported by DCAL, and Belfast City Council, and DSD.